Meet the Long Island mall ripping off Wes Anderson

Americana Manhasset – an outdoor luxury shopping centre – has released its Autumn/Winter 15 campaign with a video they’ve described evoking “the feel of a Wes Anderson movie”.

The campaign stars RJ King and one of this season’s most visible models Lexi Boling, who’s also fronted ads for Mugler, Sacai, Alexander Wang, Coach and Versace.

Many fashion brands often take creative cues from the acclaimed indie director Wes Anderson such as this season’s Bally advertisements and Tommy Hilfiger in its seasonal “family” campaigns.

The general consensus is that being inspired by someone or something means interpreting its different characteristics and repurposing them in a new way. However, American Manhasset comes pretty close to erring on the wrong side of the line this season.

Not because it has borrowed the likeness of many of Anderson’s characters and movie themes such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Royal Tenenbaums, but because it also uses Anderson’s idiosyncratic style of videography in the campaign video.

It is a beautifully shot film but it misses the opportunity to pay tribute to Anderson by instead recreating a style of film that Anderson has popularized in his body of work without the man himself.

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